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What were you thinking NU?? IMMERSION WEEK? For who? First, NU posts a description about “immersion week, 2012”, June 25 through June 29, 9-5. Everyone is invited — “whether you know a lot of ASL, are in the middle, know very little or none at all – everyone is welcome.” Now it was well understood that “immersion week” was not a class instruction. The instructors were not there to slow down their signing or explain everything to someone who didn’t understand. That was fine, we were all there to be “immersed.” We either understood everything that was going on, understood some or understood nothing at all. But the “invitation” said “everybody interested in ASL”. It was “immersion week”, right? so go and maybe you might get something out of it if you happened to be one of those people that barely knew any ASL at all.

Why did the instructors FORCE people to play games? How were some people who did not understand ASL expected to understand the rules of the game when the instructor signed them so fast? Yet these people were forced into playing, not understanding what they were doing and felt terribly awkward and embarrassed. BEFORE people were forced to be split up into teams, it should have been “signed” or better yet written on the the infamous blackboard, ” if anyone feels uncomfortable, please move to a certain part of the room and just watch”. Maybe you might pick up something. But that was not the case. People were forced into teams and forced to play the games when they had no clue what the instructor was signing and who had no patience to slow down and explain.

How would it be to reverse this: take a deaf person, all alone in a convenience store with a hearing clerk behind the counter. Behind the clerk there are 20 different kinds of juices/sodas. The deaf person wants a diet coke but he knows he can’t sign that to a hearing clerk. So he points hoping the clerk will help him. What should the clerk do? He/she can do one of two things. He can stand aside and point to each drink until the deaf person nods in affirmation when the diet coke is pointed to. Or, after pointing to two different drinks and seeing the deaf person shake his head ” no”, the clerk can throw his hands up in the air and wave the deaf person away. The clerk, in this case, is totally frustrated. This is the analog to NU’s instructors and their games as they signed the rules to play the game. There was impatience and an arrogance.

Wake up, NU, either qualify your next IMMERSION WEEK by stating that it’s “only for those individuals” that really understand ASL and who will be required to participate in all activities OR that “all are welcome; this is not a class, there will be no explanations or slowing down of signing, but you are welcome to come and just OBSERVE, if you don’t feel comfortable in participating.”

By the way, I did understand all that was going on, but I felt sorry for those that came and were made to feel stupid. I did not assume this, but talked to some of these people.